Three days after the end of the season in the Bundesliga, Bayer Leverkusen suffered a friendly defeat at an altitude of almost 3,000 meters.
The third-placed Bundesliga player lost 1-0 (0-1) at Mexican first division side Deportivo Toluca FC during his tour of Mexico.
Coach Gerardo Seoane initially fielded his strongest team without striker Patrik Schick, who had to stay home due to a minor groin surgery, and made a few changes after about an hour. The goal was scored by Argentinian Alexis Canelo (43′).
With the game, which was primarily held in Mexico to mark 100 years of Bayer – the plant there is in Toluca – the Leverkusen team also acted as ambassadors for the Bundesliga on the American market. The stadium, called “La Bombonera” (“The Box of Chocolates”) because of its design, which was also the venue for the World Cups in 1970 and 1986, was sold out with almost 30,000 spectators. The game had to be briefly interrupted in the second half because of a smoke bomb.
“You could tell that some players had problems with the height at first,” said Seoane. “But it was a decent performance. What I liked was that football was played by both sides.” Above all, the spectators “made the game an experience,” said Seoane. “It was a bit like an NBA game where the game is back on and the music is still playing.”
(dpa)
